We have been busy at our anchorage. Well, not like y’all are busy, but busy for an anchorage.
El Tor is one of the four major fishing harbors on the Gulf of Suez. There are numerous fishing boats here. They leave in the early afternoon, fish all night, and return the next day. As each boat leaves, the men (I haven’t seen any women) do this thing that almost sounds like a cheer. It is really quite cool. I can’t help but wonder what kind of life it is to be a commercial fisherman. I hope they are paid well.
We were asked what type of fish they are fishing for. . . and we do not know. I am relying on Google, which informed me that: “Horse mackerel and scads, family Carangidae, are the most abundant pelagic fishes inhabiting the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea where they constitute about 77% of the total purse-seine catch in the Gulf.”
Since I didn’t know what purse-seine meant, I looked that up as well. It is fishing by net. “Pelagic” means midwater. Tuna are also pelagic fish, in case you were curious.
The fishing boats are pretty, as much as commercial fishing vessels can be, I suppose. They have bright colors and some have designs. Here are a few pictures of individual boats plus the collection of most of the boats at the dock.
We failed to mention in our last blog that the fuel transfer pump pooped out on us. It was during the 25 hours of yucky motoring when the boat was bouncing all over the place. Our starboard tank was getting low so we pushed the button to move fuel from the port tank to the starboard tank. Silence. It worked the last time we tried it, but not this time. Oh, and it was dark. At least we could turn the “back porch light” on and have a flashlight in hand. Michael and I donned our life preservers and attached the tethers, secured ourselves to the boat, and proceeded to siphon fuel from a couple of jerry cans into the starboard tank. I was on “higher ground” as the person managing the jerry can. Michael was sitting on the bottom step by the sugar scoop. He had to keep one hand over the fuel filler to keep the hose in place and keep water from splashing into the tank. He got pretty soaked a couple of times.
Anyway, today we figured out why the fuel transfer pump wasn’t working. It had blown a fuse. We replaced it and voila! The starboard tank is now full. We now need to fill the port tank from the jerry cans so it isn’t sitting too empty. Plus, it will be easier to fill the starboard tank under motor or sail using the fuel transfer pump.
One other take away from our last passage. Keep in mind that the boat was pretty clean on the outside before we left. In 63.5 “short” hours, the exterior became covered in sea salt. When I wiped off the top of this table (on our “back porch”), I collected approximately two tablespoons of salt (I kid you not):
NEWS: We are excited to report that we received word from the Ayia Napa Marina in Cyprus that they have space for us! We plan to stay at the marina for a couple of months, then probably head to Israel. We are very excited about this marina and the chance to explore Cyprus!
Prior to that, we need to finish our passage up the Gulf of Suez and through the Suez Canal. It will then be about 240 nm or so to the marina. We should be able to sail (not motore) the entire way to the marina from Port Said, Egypt.
Speaking of our next passage, our plan as of this moment is to leave El Tor tomorrow at midnight. The GRIB files look favorable but you never know (!) so we are giving ourselves additional time. If we progress too quickly, we will just slow down. We will be motoring, so it will be easy enough to slow down.
Once we get to Port Suez, we plan to go to Cairo and see some pyramids (this will be before we go through the Canal). We are looking forward to it! We will update the blog when we have news and pictures to share.
I will leave you with a picture of me wearing the shirt my friends gave me the day before we left for the Seychelles to start our adventure. Hi Corps!
